CAIRO: Bmi Egypt has launched new and improved business and premium economy service to London following its move to Cairo Airport's new Terminal 3. The new service offers business travelers complimentary chauffer service in London and Cairo, meals prepared by an on-board chef, lie-flat beds and a variety of entertainment options. Star Alliance members moved to the new terminal in early May following trial flights at the beginning of the month. While the dining and shopping areas of the new terminal are still largely under construction, sophisticated security technology and automated services are up and running. "The new space is huge and almost fully automated. The baggage screening and security technology in the terminal is more advanced than in most European and UK airports, explained Ahmed Elhawary, bmi Egypt's airport manager. A new star alliance lounge, set for completion on July 1, is currently under construction in Terminal 3. At Heathrow Airport, bmi's recently renovated terminal 1 features a newly opened international lounge, bmi no. 1 Heathrow. Daily News Egypt sat down with Dave Walsh, the airline's commercial manager for Egypt, to learn more about the its new offerings out of Cairo, plans for expansion, and the status of Lufthansa's takeover bid. Daily News Egypt: How has bmi's new business service been received in Cairo? Dave Walsh: So far things have been going very well and the new business cabin has been fully booked on almost every flight. Our main challenge is raising awareness about the new service and building name recognition. We've been working closely with companies, travel agencies and business chambers here in Cairo and people are responding positively. People are willing to do business and we ve seen openness and eagerness from the community in response to this new service. This gives me a lot of hope for the future; we want to build upon our success with customers to make sure they come back and become frequent fliers. What are the outstanding features of bmi's business and premium economy cabins? At bmi we offer the best premium economy and business service in the market. Our premium economy is on the standard of business class with other airlines, and our business class is essentially the same as a first-class product. The cabins are outstanding in terms of entertainment, spaciousness, cuisine and service. Our goal is to make the journey from terminal to terminal smooth and efficient for all our customers and we have accomplished this with expedited security, a free chauffer service and efficient, modern terminals in both Cairo and London. The introduction of the Airbus A330 in April has helped us to expand service as well. What is the nature of bmi's partnership with EgyptAir? EgyptAir and bmi offer different services, but we are working together effectively to provide the best service to our customers. For example, our London flight flies out in the evening and EgyptAir's departs in the morning, so we give our customers the option of taking each other's flights if it is more convenient for their schedule. Cooperation like this helps us both provide a better product and we hope to continue coming up with new ways to work together. What is the status of the Lufthansa bid to take over bmi? It is underway. The takeover was approved by the European Union on May 14, and is in progress. I think it will be a great partnership for us because bmi and Lufthansa share the same values. bmi will help Lufthansa expand service in the UK and Lufthansa will help bmi increase international coverage and this will benefit all of our customers. Does bmi have plans to expand destinations or increase flights from Cairo? We are always open to expansion and we are looking at the possibility of adding more daily flights from Cairo to London, possibly to start in the winter. At present bmi flies to several destinations in the Middle East and we'd love to expand if the market conditions are right. We'll see what the future brings. How has the swine flu outbreak affected business? The swine flu scare has not impacted our business, we continue to maintain the same standards on our flights to make sure all of our planes are safe for our customers. And the economic crisis? The financial crisis has not impacted our business out of Cairo so far. In fact, our business is growing rapidly due to the introduction of our new business service and we hope it will continue to do so.
